


traffic lights

by cosmicdingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 18:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16068725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicdingle/pseuds/cosmicdingle
Summary: robron au.sometimes strange things lead to good things.





	traffic lights

**Author's Note:**

> just a lil one shot :) let me know what you think!!! happy reading x

Aarons weekdays entailed the same routine over and over again. I mean, if he was honest with himself it felt so repetitive to him sometimes that he felt as if he were a robot. His alarm would go off at 8:30am, although he wouldn’t actually rise from his slumber till around 9 (the snooze button was his best friend), he did love a good kip. After finally managing to rake himself from the paradise that was his bed, he would stumble out of his little bedroom at the back of his mothers pub and down the stairs where he would treat himself to a couple of slices of toast, he was boring like that. Once he had pulled on a pair of overalls, he was ready to leave the house and head to work. 

Aaron had been a mechanic at his Uncle Cain’s garage for a number of years but around six months ago he had decided to leave, not because he couldn’t bare working with Cain anymore, he did get on his nerves sometimes but underneath that there was a lot of love for him. No, the reason he decided to leave was purely based upon the fact he wanted something more than working in Emmerdale his whole life like the rest of his family had done, if he was honest he was quite bored with it all. After finally building up the courage to leave the garage he had begun searching for another mechanic job that was elsewhere to the little village he knew oh so well. He had managed to bank himself one in Leeds and had been working there ever since. 

Each morning, he caught the train into Leeds as it was his speediest route (and it meant he could lie in for longer which was always nice), then he would have a twenty minute walk to the garage he now worked at. He enjoyed the job, it had made life more interesting and had allowed him to meet more people but after the six months he had worked there so far the days were becoming more and more repetitive. However he supposed that was just life, just one of the many joys of being an adult, so he got on with it as best he could.

This particular Monday morning was no different. Aaron had just stepped off his train and begun walking down the street, setting off on his twenty minute stroll to his job. As he paced along the street, he noticed a tall blonde haired man just in front of him, in a full on maroon hued suit as-well. Aaron could only see his back obviously but he couldn’t help but think to himself that he was rather attractive (which may sound crazy considering he had never even seen his face but what could he do).

Aaron hadn’t had a relationship in quite some time, his last boyfriend was called Ed and they got on well and even lived in France together for a period of time but after that all ended he had been on his own. He liked it that way in a strange sense, if he wasn’t with anyone no one could hurt him, that’s the way he saw it. Although Aaron would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that sometimes he did feel lonely, just a bit.

The man strolled straight through the crossing as the lights were on green, Aaron sped the tempo of his walk up to try and make it before the lights turned back to red but low and behold as he approached the crossing the emerald shades were replaced with blood red ones. He sighed in frustration, he was supposed to be at work by 10 and it was 9:58 which certainly wasn’t ideal. His blue eyes stared out into the distance as he waited for the lights to again change, almost subconsciously looking for the mysterious mans fair hair somewhere in the distance. He eventually clocked him. He had just made it to the street corner and had disappeared off to wherever he was heading.

A rather unusual feeling hit Aaron at that moment, he was almost feeling sad? He shook his head quickly at the emotion he felt, how could he feel sad that he was probably never going to see some strange man in maroon, who’s face he had never even seen ever again? He felt ridiculous for feeling such a thing. 

The rest of the day played out exactly as it always did, slow and seeming to drag for all eternity. After finishing work and arriving back home at the Woolpack and wolfing down the spaghetti bolognese his mum had cooked up for tea and of course going through every detail of his day with her (she liked to know what was going on in his life at all times), Aaron was truly exhausted. He took himself off to bed and weirdly dreamt of blonde hued hair and traffic lights..... he really felt as if he were going crazy.

The next morning he completed his routine yet again and started off on his twenty minute walk yet again. As Aaron stepped onto the same street he had seen the man on the day prior, he had a quick look down at his phone to check the time, when he looked up again his eyes nearly popped straight out of his head. There was the man, just in front of him yet again. “Where the fuck did he come from?” Aaron thought to himself in complete utter shock. The man had appeared out of literally nowhere. 

Aaron began to think he had imagined the whole thing, I mean there was no way he could have appeared in the three seconds he had looked at his phone for, not a bloody chance. Maybe it was a sign of loneliness (which he would rather it not be). The mans pace again sped up just like the day before as he approached the crossing again and surprise surprise made it before the lights turned red. 

Aaron couldn’t actually believe it when he reached the crossing and the lights again turned red. Was this some sort of de ja vu experience or was it just plain fucking weird? The man again made it to the street corner and went on his way again. Aaron was utterly baffled.

He grew more and more baffled as the days past and the EXACT same thing continued to happen. In exactly the same bloody way. There he would be, just in front of Aaron and there he would go straight through the green light and to the street corner and there Aaron would stop due to the lights turning red. It was beyond weird. 

Before Aaron knew it, a whole entire month had passed of the same routine he and the man subconsciously had, taking place. 

That was until one day Aaron was in more of a rush than usual and had sped off of the train, only having ten minutes to walk a twenty minute walk. He shot down the street he and the man usually saw each other (or Aaron saw the man as he had never seen the man ever turn around and spot him at any point whatsoever). It felt rather bittersweet to Aaron that the little routine they had going on wouldn’t be happening on this particular day, he had grown quite accustomed to it at this point. 

Aaron felt as if the ground had fell from beneath his feet when he glimpsed behind him and saw what he saw. The man was directly behind him. Also, this was the first time he had ever seen his face and it was just as gorgeous as he imagined if not more if he did say so himself. The mans face was dotted with freckles and he had green-blue shaded eyes, he was absolutely stunning and Aaron couldn’t handle it one bit. 

Before he knew what was happening, the man began RUNNING past Aaron and towards the crossing they knew all too well. Before he got too far ahead the man turned briefly towards Aaron and said to his complete surprise 

“I’ve been winning for a month now, can’t stop now, see you tomorrow.” 

Aaron stopped straight in his tracks at the man words, and his lovely deep voice... he had to stop this. The man had been trying to beat him to the street corner this whole time? He furrowed his eyebrows at the thought, he’d been in a competition he didn’t even know he was in by the sounds of it. Life really is a funny one. 

Aarons legs sped off before he had time to think and he started legging it after the man, but of course he got held up at the traffic lights again, of bloody course. He finally made it to the street corner and ran after the man, unsure what he was even doing but still doing it nonetheless. 

He eventually caught up to the man after running for what seemed like forever. Aaron grasped at the material of the mans maroon suit and spun him around. He nearly collapsed at the sight of seeing him so close up, his little crush was truly getting pathetic now. 

“What do you mean you’ve been winning for a month?” Aaron spoke in between breaths, he really needed to go to the gym more.  
“I meant what I said, I’ve been beating you to the street corner for the past month.”  
“Mate, I’m so confused when were we even in a race?”  
“We weren’t I was just bored on my way to the office and you seemed to always be going the same way as me so I thought why not make the trip to work more entertaining?”

A small smile graced Aarons lips at the mans words, this guy was seriously off his rocker. “You’re mad, you don’t even know me but you decided oh I’ll race him down the street?”  
“Yeah pretty much, did you not notice me? Pretty sure I was always just ahead.”  
Aaron nearly blushed at that moment, but he held it in, well he hoped he had. “No, yeah I noticed but didn’t realise you were having a race I have to be honest, got a bit pissed when you always made it through the traffic lights and I didn’t though.”  
A smirk covered the mans face “Not my fault they change when they do is it?”  
“Not being funny mate but things like that don’t happen that many times so for all I know it might well be your fault.”  
“Ooof thanks for accusing me of meddling with traffic lights. Really nice of you.” 

Aaron rolled his eyes quickly, this man emancipated arrogant energy but in a weird way he kind of liked it. “What’s your name anyway?” The man asked out of the blue.  
“I should tell you why?”  
The man smirked a little yet again and Aarons insides nearly exploded right there and then. “Well because I’ve been racing you for literally a month I think I should know your name.”  
“Give over mate, it’s Aaron.”  
“Aaron ey?”  
“Yeah you heard me. What’s yours then?”  
“Robert Sugden.” Aarons eyebrows furrowed at his words. “Didn’t need to tell me your full name.”  
“I didn’t. My full name is Robert Jacob Sugden so.” There was the smirk again.  
“You’re a so and so aren’t ya.”  
“Some might say that yeah.”  
“Right well I’ve got to go to work now so-“ It was already past 10 and Aaron was already in trouble for sleeping on the job (like I said before, he loves a good kip). 

He began to walk away when Robert cut him off and grasped his shoulder, sending electric shocks through the whole of his being. “Wait, I forgot to tell you, you look really fit in overalls.” Aaron couldn’t hold in the blush anymore and it creeped onto his cheeks in full force. “I-uh thankyou?” Why was he being so awkward? 

“You’re welcome, also one more thing, do you like laser tag?” Aaron laughed quietly, what was this Robert fella on?  
“Excuse me?”  
“I said, do you like laser tag?”  
“Uh yeah it’s okay I suppose?”  
“Okay, come with me for a session tomorrow night, shall we say 7?”  
“Have you seriously just invited me to come to laser tag with you?” What even was this day.  
“Might’ve done, so you coming?”  
“Bloody hell mate go on then.” 

After exchanging numbers so they could contact each-other the following day, the two men headed off to work. Aaron couldn’t drag his mind from Robert all day long, there was just something about him, something he hadn’t seen before. It was a mind boggling affair. 

The following evening, after eating whatever Chas had cooked up, instead of heading off to bed Aaron got changed into some nicer clothes. I mean obviously not a suit and tie, this was laser tag after all but he was rarely out of overalls these days so anything was a nice change.

He slipped on his favourite purple hoodie and some black skinny jeans and gelled his hair into what he hoped was a presentable state and headed back downstairs. 

“Where you off, love?” His beloved mum called as he approached the door.  
“Just off out into Leeds.”  
“Oooo very nice, with who?”  
“Just someone.”  
“A bloke?”  
“None of your business is it.”  
Chas Dingle almost screamed with excitement in the seconds that followed. “Oh my god it is isn’t it? Have a good time love I hope it goes well, text me when you get there okay?”

Aaron rolled his eyes at his mum “You’re a nutter mum, I’ll see you later love you.” She was lovely and he loved her dearly but she was a bit full on when it came to Aaron and blokes.

Aarons palms became almost drenched with sweat on the train to Leeds. He hadn’t been out with a bloke in so long, this all felt so foreign to him and made him unbelievably nervous. What was he even thinking, for all he knew Robert just wanted to be his friend. He had to keep his hopes low, it’s the only way to stop yourself getting hurt according to Aaron. Life had become so repetitive it felt weird to be doing something different again, feeling something different, it was scary but exciting.

As he sauntered towards the laser tag place, his heart began to thump like a drum in his chest. This was the strangest thing that had happened in the longest amount of time, he was so anxious. 

That’s when he spotted Robert, in a plain grey T-shirt and blue trousers. Aaron couldn’t believe his eyes, he thought he was attractive in a suit but in this causal clothing he seemed even more beautiful. 

“Hi there.” Robert uttered, with of course his classic smirk on his face.  
“Hiya.” Aaron replied, smirking a little himself.  
“Shall we go in then?” 

They both headed inside and got kitted up and then they were ready to start the game. “Hey, Aaron.” Robert said nudging him just before they started the game.  
“What Robert?”  
“What’s your last name?”  
“I-what? Random? It’s Dingle.”  
“You’re going down Dingle.”  
“You’re fucking mad.”

Before they began, it was explained by an instructor that it is an every man for himself scenario and the last person standing is the winner. However they both decided to team up to take out more people and then battle it out themselves if they made it to the final two. “It’ll help us both if we do it that way” Robert had said. 

Robert and Aaron made a good team together, to the surprise of both of them. They were taking out their competitors at the speed of lightening. As they continued their domination of the game Robert whispered in Aarons ear “told you I’m good at winning, I mean you should know that from all the times I beat you to the street corner.” The sound of his whisper sent shivers straight up Aarons spine.  
“Modest much. And like I said I didn’t know we were racing.”  
“Sure you didn’t.”

They shot and shot and shot until, it was just the two of them left standing. “Just me and you then.” Robert uttered, clearly set on winning. Aaron just smiled at him and began to run away from him, and into a different part of the course. This was the most fun he had in he couldn’t remember how long and he was loving every single second. 

After running away from him, Aaron began to search for Robert again, to sneak up on him and catch him out. He had to win, he just had to but he knew Robert would be thinking the exact same. 

As he was sneaking round a corner, checking if the coast was clear, a hand grabbed him and shoved him into a corner. Robert had him trapped, Aaron was bitterly disappointed as he awaited his final shot, why did this man have to win at literally everything? 

But Robert didn’t shoot, and before he could contemplate what was happening, Roberts lips had been placed on his own, in a sweet but fiery kiss. 

Butterflies leapt in Aarons stomach as he began to move his lips against Roberts. Electricity pulsed through the air through every movement of lips.

The kiss ended eventually, and the two men were left staring at each other, both seemingly shocked at the others actions. “I-Why did you do that?” Aaron said, breaking the silence that had emerged.  
“I don’t know I just, thought you were fit for a while now and yeah.” Robert had a red tint to his own cheeks now.  
“You didn’t even know if I liked blokes though? Wish I had your bravery.”  
“No I mean but you do so, jobs a good one really.”  
“Ha, suppose it is yeah.”

They both stood smiling at each other for a few seconds before Aaron raised his gun and shot Robert. “What the hell? Thought we’d decided to just finish? I mean I kissed you?”  
“I mean you always beat me to that street corner, I had to win at something didn’t I.”  
“Bloody hell Aaron, I suppose we’re even then.”  
“I guess we are.” 

With that they both stepped forward and pressed their lips together yet again. Maybe life was about to become a hell of a lot less repetitive, and Aaron looked forward to it very much.


End file.
